


Of What Is To Come

by teacuphuman



Series: 2016 Inception Kink Bingo [14]
Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: M/M, Prophetic Visions, Telepathy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-06
Updated: 2016-08-06
Packaged: 2018-07-29 15:58:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7690744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teacuphuman/pseuds/teacuphuman
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world where Arthur has the ability to see all possible outcomes of his decisions, Eames is the only constant.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of What Is To Come

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Telepathy/Mindmeld square on my Inception Kink Bingo card.

Arthur has a gift, his mother tells her friends. The ability to make the best decisions he possibly can.

 

Arthur has a curse, his father tells anyone who will listen. The affliction of always knowing what could have been.

 

Arthur is stuck in the middle, unsure and unable to put a voice to his frustrations. His grandfather says he needs to let go of the wrong decisions. Learn to forgive himself. 

 

It doesn’t get better. The inconsequential choices of his childhood mature into a constant migraine of endless anxiety that become the hallmark of his teens. Arthur stops trusting himself when a simple do I go left or do I go right dilemma shows him the death of his best friend.

 

Arthur joins the military, lured in by the potential serenity made possible by taking orders. For three years he’s as close to blissfully neutral as possible, making only the decisions he has to. Choosing spearmint over peppermint toothpaste hasn’t killed anyone yet, and Arthur makes the mistake of relaxing his circumspection.

 

He makes Captain and is introduced to Project Somnacin the next day. The moment Arthur sees the PASIV, endless paths open to him, each more exhilarating than the last. For the first time in his life, Arthur sees the benefit of his faculty. 

 

Dreaming brings forth an added bonus. In dreams, Arthur’s decisions don’t matter. Nothing is real, and for the very first time, Arthur knows what it’s like to empty his mind. When he meets the Cobb’s, his world view is upended. He sees worlds open to him he didn’t even know existed.

 

The moment he shakes Malorie’s hand, he sees her death. Nothing Arthur does will change it; the wheels are already in motion. So he pushes the knowledge away, learns all he can, and tries not to fixate on how wrong her body will look on the wet pavement.

 

Eames starts as a blur in Arthur’s mind. A vague notion that takes shape the deeper he goes into Project Somnacin. When Arthur is discharged, walking away with not one, but two PASIV’s under the nose of the army, his vision of Eames solidifies. A year later, Arthur sees heartbreak lead to extraordinary happiness, and he starts to feel confident about his decisions again.

 

Every job he takes, every mistake he makes, Eames is the only constant. Arthur puts a down payment on a house in Sacramento, and he sees Eames asleep on a hammock in the backyard. Arthur misses his flight to Daegu because he picks a fight with his cab driver, and he watches Eames walk away from him. When he finally makes it to the job and ends up shooting the extractor in the face for double crossing them, a vision of Eames bathed in morning light is so crisp and clear, Arthur almost throws up.

 

Dom hands him Phillipa and Arthur see himself walking her down the aisle. The first time he holds James, Arthur sees Eames lead him down a dark hallway, love in his face and forever on his mind.

 

The first time Arthur meets Eames, he hates him. Nearly drives himself crazy trying to reconcile the man in his future with the cretin who picks the waiter’s pocket in the middle of their first meeting, then laughs off Arthur’s reprimand. 

 

Eames keeps popping up over the years, his notoriety growing quicker than Arthur can track. Arthur isn’t stupid, he knows he can’t change things. He tells himself he has no choice but to keep tabs on Eames, sometimes bailing him out of jail from halfway across the world. He’s just protecting his future. Because he may not be able to find himself in his visions, but Arthur sees Eames. And all Eames can see is Arthur.


End file.
